Markus Jakobsson, Elizabeth Shriver, Bruce K. Hillyer, and Ari Juels

Abstract: We suggest a practical and economical way to generate random bits using a computer disk drive as a source of randomness. It requires no additional hardware (given a system with a disk), and no user involvement. As a concrete example of performance, on a Sun Ultra-1 with a Seagate Cheetah disk, it generates bits at a rate of either 5 bits per minute or 577 bits per minute depending on the physical phenomena that we use as a source of randomness. The generated bits are random by a theoretical argument, and also pass a severe battery of statistical tests.